Landscapers must often prepare lawns, landscaping, etc. This work often requires removal of rocks from the soil. Manual removal of rocks is labor intensive and is partially ineffective since some rocks will be buried just below the surface where they can inhibit growth of grass but on the other hand are not easily seen by workers. If mechanical equipment is used, often as much or more dirt as rocks are picked up for disposal. This obviously increases the time required, it also increases disposal cost since to the debris collected will be dirt that is hauled away with the rocks. Prior art devices, such as that disclosed in prior patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,739,404 enables the landscaper to grade, work and scarify soil and the grading of soil inherently removes some rocks.
The present invention provides an implement that may be mounted, preferably, on the lift arms of a front end loader through an appropriate hitch, so that the implement may be pivoted to change the angle of the implement with respect to the ground and also to enable raising and lowering of the implement to dump rocks therefrom as will hereinafter be described. Accordingly, the front end loader (or similar drive vehicle such as a tractor) is used to move the implement over soil having rocks to be removed. A frame is mounted on the forward edge of a bucket connected to the lift arms by a conventional hitch assembly. The frame has opposite transverse edges, one of which is attached to the open end of the bucket and the other terminates in a tined member carrying multiple spaced tines, which penetrate the soil as the implement is moved. The frame supports multiple removable and replaceable grates. Accordingly, the tines engage rocks either on the surface of the soil or buried just below the surface such that movement of the vehicle in the forward direction forces rocks to move along the tines and into the grating assembly. The grates are sized to retain rocks in excess of a predetermined size on the grate while the dirt and other debris falls through the grates and back onto the ground. When the grates become full, the operator rotates the implement to cause the rocks to move from the grates and into the bucket. Preferably, the floor of the bucket is perforated such that the rocks that remain in the bucket any dirt remaining on the rocks is discharged after it is shaken off the rocks by normal movement of the vehicle through the perforations in the floor of the bucket. When the bucket is full or nearly fully, the operator dumps the bucket in a debris pile or in a truck for debris removal. Accordingly, rocks are quickly and efficiently removed from the soil, but most if not all of the dirt is shaken from the rocks during normal movement of the vehicle and falls through the grates and/or the perforations in the floor of the bucket back onto the ground.